Why Guns Should Not Be Allowed On Campus Essay

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In 2001, roughly 36% of U.S. households had at least one gun. By 2011, the number of households with guns increased to 47% (Birnbaum, 2013,). Controversy over the second amendment and gun control in the United States has become an augmenting issue, especially with mass shootings like Sandy Hook and Las Vegas. Mass shootings are also occurring on college campuses such as Virginia Tech, which is resulting in the debate of whether guns should be allowed on campus. Guns should not be allowed on college campuses because of the mental health, the behavior, and the overall safety of students, faculty and staff.
The mental health of college students substantially influences the fact that guns should not be allowed on campus. Young adults (18-24 years old) have increased suicidal and homicidal thoughts, notably at the age of 19 (Webster, 2016). Students are in a more fragile state of mind due to developmental, psychological, and sociological reasons. Due to the fragile state of minds, guns would only increase the fatal or nonfatal incidents that occur on campus. Students who are concealing thoughts of suicide or homicide are less likely to act on their thoughts if they only have pills, razors or fists (Grayson & Meilman, 2013). These means that are easily available can only be done by close contact or …show more content…

If guns were allowed on campus it could make faculty and staff member’s job challenging. For instance, an irritable student could be unhappy with a grade and threaten a professor to change the grade. It would be much harder to say no if his/her life was at stake (Grayson & Meilman, 2011). Counselors and staff at universities are here to help students. Counselors, especially, are supposed to be there to help and not fear the student, but how can he/she do so if they know the student has a gun and could potentially harm them (Grayson & Meilman,

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